Cordlife responds to Health Ministry on possible suspension by deadline
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Cordlife first received a six-month suspension in November 2023 after audit checks found lapses in its storage of cord blood units.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
SINGAPORE – Private cord blood bank Cordlife said it submitted written representations to the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Oct 27, the deadline given to the embattled firm.
It was the last day of a 14-day period during which it could submit the representations to MOH, before the ministry decides whether to proceed with a one-year suspension.
Since Sept 30, one day after receiving MOH’s Notice of Intent on the one-year suspension, Cordlife said it had voluntarily stopped the collection, testing, processing and/or storage of any new cord blood units.
Cord blood contains stem cells that can be used to treat blood diseases and some cancers, such as leukaemia and lymphoma, should the baby develop these illnesses later in life.
Cordlife first received a six-month suspension in November 2023 after audit checks found lapses in its storage of cord blood units.
Cordlife was allowed to resume operations in a calibrated manner in September 2024, and on Jan 14, 2025, its licence was renewed for one year.
However, a midpoint audit found that Cordlife had failed to comply with various regulatory requirements, such as governance, incident reporting and management, as well as processes for collection, testing and processing of new cord blood units.
The private cord blood bank subsequently saw its cord blood banking services face a one-year suspension.
